And look at that… nearly another
week has gone by. The time is really going much too fast. My finals first paper
is due on Monday, finals are in three weeks, and then I travel Europe for two
and a half weeks. Damn. I really need more time here. I’m starting to feel like
I haven’t seen enough of Prague, which is a really depressing realization,
especially because it’s not like I have wasted my time. In a positive light
though, I think that was an inevitable realization, because it takes years to
get to know a city, and a city as diverse and rich as Prague is no exception.
Okay – a quick rundown of what I’ve
neglected in the blog from the past few weeks.
Not last Monday, but the prior one,
CIEE hosted a second Bowling & Pool night. This one was definitely attended
by fewer people than the first one, but it was a good time still. Last time I
shied away from the bowling, because, well, I’m terrible and didn’t want to
embarrass myself. This time however, I decided that life would go on, even if I
was humiliated and played a game and a half. I was beating Devin when we had to
stop to start the tournament, and after starting with a strike, I was feeling
good. Then the tournament started and things went downhill. Devin and I were on
a team and I think there was a three-frame stretch where we combined for six or
seven pins. We came back strong though and lost with a respectable spread of
only 20 or so after Devin managed two strikes in a row (and I started the 10th
frame with a strike as well).
Then Devin and I were challenged to
two games of pool. Not great billiards players ourselves, we found some
encouragement by the poor start of our opponents, but were unable to
capitalize. Still, persistence pays off and though we conceded leads in both
games, we won both games when our opposition scratched on the 8 ball. Tsk, tsk.
Ball safety people. The second game was even more dramatic than the first,
because they had seen the unfortunate demise of their predecessors and should have
learned. So, after they had called the proper pocket and coolly sunk the 8
ball, they started celebrating. Too soon. The cue ball, full of English started
rolling back to the near corner pocket and fell whilst our opponents were
jumping up and down celebrating their victory. Didn’t their mom ever teach them
that it’s not over until the fat lady sings?
After bowling and pool, we stopped
by a birthday party for a classmate at his apartment for a little where we
indulged in cakes and whipped cream. In fact, pretty soon the cake was gone and
I started just putting a pile of whipped cream on my plate and eating it with a
fork. Probably not the healthiest choice, but delicious none-the-less, unfortunately
it also made me miss home (Alex, I hope you still shamelessly eat whipped
cream).
Last time I wrote about learning to
bake bread with Hannah. But I’ve started baking a loaf of bread nearly every
other day. Baking is quickly becoming one of my favorite activities, especially
for dinner parties when I have friends over. I’ve had several dinner parties
over the last couple weeks – my way of still socializing with out going out to
eat as frequently – and they’ve been terrifically fun nights filled with good
food, warm bread, and delightful company, inevitably culminating in dancing to
such classic tunes as “Whip My Hair” by Willow Smith or “Lean Like A Cholo” by
Down.
Next up – Cinema Dance: The
mysterious weekend of dancing in the woods for three days to earn three college
credits is fast approaching but few details have yet to be released. So far all
I know is that I will leave at 2:30 on Thursday and return Sunday evening and
that the class costs a little over $100 for food and lodging. Fun fact – they
don’t tell you there’s a charge until three weeks before the retreat at which
point it is too late to do anything except pay since you can’t pick up another
class before the end of the semester and you can’t drop the class and still
“graduate” from the CIEE. Anyway, they also make you travel down to FAMU in
order to pay for the class. In an email they outline the procedure (come at so
and so time with so and so many Crowns), and a few days later I have the proper
amount of change, so I make my way down the river to FAMU.
I have a few hours in between
classes, but when I arrive at FAMU, I have no idea where I am, so I ask the
concierge where I can find the representative of the program (who’s name I
smartly wrote down in my phone, since I knew I wouldn’t remember it). He
directs me up to the fourth floor, but when I get there, every door is closed
and none of the name tags are right. Thoroughly confused, I get a bit nervous
and finally build up enough courage to ask where I am and where I should go. I
stop a woman in the hallway who tells me that I need to be on the first floor
in the international office. Well that makes sense! But then why did the
concierge send to the fourth floor? The door is well marked, but closed. I
knock, but receive no response. I try the handle, but it was locked. At this
point I got a little upset because I’d wasted nearly my entire break in between
classes to try and pay for Cinema Dance only to come up empty and have to come
back the next day.
The good news though: when I came
back the next day, I knew where I was going, I knew who I was looking for (I
still had her name in my phone) and the door was open. It took me all of five
minutes to sign up and I was quickly back on my way to class.
I still have no idea what the class
is about though and it seems like they’re keeping the details close to their
chest. I have heard only great things about the class though, so I’m not too
worried. The only real issue however is that I have five friends visiting that
weekend: three coming in on Saturday and Charl and one of his friends coming
Sunday. I’m hoping that Mira can show them around Sunday if they need any
guidance and that I don’t get in too late on Sunday. I can’t even explain how
happy I am to see Charl though. I don’t think I have seen him since last
Christmas break, which is just too long.
As I’m sure you are all aware,
yesterday was Thanksgiving. Some of you may be unaware however that
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and the fact that I missed it this year may
be one of the hardest parts about studying abroad in the fall. In America,
Thanksgiving is a natural divide, before which retailers do not advertise for
Christmas specials. In Prague however, with no Thanksgiving holiday, there is
no break and Christmas markets opened almost two weeks before Thanksgiving.
What would generally be frowned upon in America proved to be a pleasant
surprise on the other side of the pond. Markets popped up all around Prague,
filling squares with stalls decorated with ornaments and wreaths and a large
decorated Christmas tree in the center. I don’t have too much use for buying
ornaments for the family, but the markets are still a lot of fun to frequent
and I have found a bunch of scarves and some fresh persimmon. I don’t know if
I’ve ever eaten persimmon before coming to Prague, but I was walking around a
market between Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square, buying vegetables for a
dinner and munching on a persimmon the other day – it was such a great
experience and one that I just couldn’t have in America.
Last wrap-up point before I get to
my present weekend (which may actually have to wait for the next post for the
most part): Yesterday before a DELICIOUS thanksgiving dinner, cooked almost
entirely by Emily and to which I’ll get to in a second, I finally got over to
Petrin. Petrin is a large park in Mala Strana (the Little Town) overlooking
Prague Castle and Old Town. The park is huge and has a miniature replica of the
Eifel Tower at the top, which you can walk up for 50 kc. I wanted to make it to
the top of the hill before sunset to get a few photos in before darkness
descended. That didn’t quite happen. The sun sets at 4:30 now, which is a bit
ridiculous, but life goes on. After finally finding the gondola that goes up
the hill, I refused to be deterred by the night and so I took a few photos of
the city with the shining lights of the city. I’m hoping some of them worked
out, but I was trying some things with multiple exposures, so we’ll see what
happens.
I stayed too long at Petrin though,
so I was a little late to Thanksgiving dinner. Dinner hadn’t started though,
and in fact was still in the oven. The large brick of Brie cheese with pecans
and cranberry and loaves of bread had just been set on the table, so I quickly
capitalized on that to begin the festivities. Thanksgiving away from my family
is just not the same. I had a great time, the food was delicious, the company
fun, but it wasn’t family and Thanksgiving is a holiday for family. I know that
one day I’ll start my own Thanksgiving tradition with my family, but I’m not
ready for that yet.
When I got home from dinner, I got
to Skype with my family who was all together at my aunt and uncle’s new house.
Ugh, I was so jealous, but it was so great to see them all – even if it was
just through a computer screen. I finally got to sleep around two, only to have
to wake up at 6:30 for a trip to Vienna. More on that after I get some sleep,
but highlights so far: Christmas Markets feasts with swords and a tower of
beer.
G’night ya’ll. – oh and let me just
apologize for the incoherence of this post, I’m exhausted.
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